Monday, March 03, 2014

John McCain on climate change: I just leave the issue alone because I don’t see a way through it

"I’m still interested in it. And I think there are a lot of things that we can do like this transition that we’re making to natural gas thanks to our resources and I still believe in nuclear power as one of the big parts of the answers, and that’s almost impossible to get. And I think we need to address greenhouse gas emissions. But I try to get involved in issues were I see a legislative result… But there’s going to be no movement in the Congress of the United States certainly this year and probably next year. So I just leave the issue alone because I don’t see a way through it, and there are certain fundamentals, for example nuke power, that people on the left will never agree with me on. So why should I waste my time when I know the people on the left are going to reject nuclear power? I don’t believe that you can really succeed in reducing greenhouse gases unless you have a lot of nuclear power plants. They’re against them. Well, okay, I move on to other issues."

2 comments:

One has to wonder if Senator McCain leaves it alone because he was hoodwinked into believing man-caused global warming by a guy called "Captain Climate" back in 2000: http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/may2008/db20080512_607034.htm

This individual was tied to Green Corps and Ozone Action ( http://www.activistcash.com/person/1974-matt-stembridge/ ), the latter group being merged into Greenpeace in 2000 with its founder taking over as Executive Director of Greenpeace USA ( http://www.nytimes.com/library/politics/080700lives-greenpeace.html ). It just would not look helpful for McCain to admit he was conned by Greenpeace.

Thank you for contacting me regarding climate change. I appreciate knowing your thoughts on this issue.

Earlier this year, President Obama announced a plan to address climate change. Unfortunately, most of the Administration’s proposals would simply impose burdensome regulations on American business that would be harmful to the U.S. economy. While I welcome the opportunity to debate proposals in the Senate, I do not support the use of executive orders to implement policy and place costly new regulations on the American industry.

According to extensive international scientific studies, including reports by the National Academy of Sciences and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, dramatic increases in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are causing global temperatures to rise. Human activities, including the burning of fossil fuels, are the primary source of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions in our atmosphere.

As Americans, we can no longer ignore our significant contribution to this environmental threat. The United States must act responsibly to address this issue and work to preserve the environment for future generations. It is also essential that we maintain our leadership role as the world moves toward international solutions.

As you may know, in previous years I have worked to pass legislation to reduce carbon emissions though the creation of a market-based cap and trade system. I continue to believe that America should promote innovation in the energy economy by creating a market demand for carbon reduction. Please be assured that I will keep your views in mind as I work together with my fellow Senators and the Administration to negotiate a successful method of addressing this critical issue.

Thank you again for sharing your views. Please feel free to contact me regarding this or any other matter of importance to you.